Click for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Forecast
HOME ISSUE CALENDAR BETWEEN ISSUES ARCHIVE DEADLINES CONTACT US
 
 

OF RECORD

Procedures for the Establishment, Merger and Closing of Departments, Divisions & Similar Entities within School

The proposed revision to the Statutes of the Trustees and The Handbook for Faculty and Academic Administrators, Section II.E.14, "Procedures for the Establishment, Merger and Closing of Departments, Divisions and Similar Entities within Schools" published For Comment on April 30, 2002 was approved without comment, accepted Of Record, and became effective July 1, 2002.

-- Barbara Lowery, Associate Provost

Policy on the Use of upenn.edu Domain Name Space

The Network Policy Committee, IT Roundtable, and the Vice Provost for ISC wish to call your attention to a recently approved computing policy. This policy specifies the naming requirements for domains within the upenn.edu domain name space. A structured approach to domain naming conventions will result in less ambiguity and will reduce duplicate requests and/or contention for domain names. The policy also provides links to documents that make the process of requesting changes easier to understand and more consistent with the local policies of School and Center computing.

The full policy text can be found online at http://www.isc-net.upenn.edu/policy/approved/20011108-upenndomain.html.

--Information Systems and Computing, Networking and Telecommunications

This year Rosh Hashanah will be observed on Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8. Please remember that Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the day preceding the date given; thus the observance of Rosh Hashanah will begin at sundown, Friday, September 6. Yom Kippur is on Monday, September 16. Observance will begin at sundown on Sunday, September 15.

Reminder: Policy on Secular and Religious Holidays

Effective July 1, 1996; Revised March 30, 2001

  1. The University recognizes/observes the following secular holidays: Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Thanksgiving and the day after, Labor Day, and New Year's Day.
  2. The University also recognizes that there are several religious holidays that affect large numbers of University community members, including Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first two days of Passover, and Good Friday. In consideration of their significance for many students, no examinations may be given and no assigned work may be required on these days. Students who observe these holidays will be given an opportunity to make up missed work in both laboratories and lecture courses. If an examination is given on the first class day after one of these holidays, it must not cover material introduced in class on that holiday.
    Faculty should realize that Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the published date of the holiday. Late afternoon exams should be avoided on these days. Also, no examinations may be held on Saturday or Sunday in the undergraduate schools unless they are also available on other days. Nor should seminars or other regular classes be scheduled on Saturdays or Sundays unless they are also available at other times.
  3. The University recognizes that there are other holidays, both religious and secular, which are of importance to some individuals and groups on campus. Such occasions include, but are not limited to, Sukkot, the last two days of Passover, Shavuot, Shemini Atzerat, and Simchat Torah, as well as Chinese New Year, the Muslim New Year, and the Islamic holidays Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Students who wish to observe such holidays must inform their instructors within the first two weeks of each semester of their intent to observe the holiday even when the exact date of the holiday will not be known until later so that alternative arrangements convenient to both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity. Students who make such arrangements will not be required to attend classes or take examinations on the designated days, and faculty must provide reasonable opportunities for such students to make up missed work and examinations. For this reason it is desirable that faculty inform students of all examination dates at the start of each semester. Exceptions to the requirement of a make-up examination must be approved in advance by the undergraduate dean of the school in which the course is offered.

--Robert Barchi, Provost

The following policy, effective July 2000, supercedes Policy # 004, dated October 1, 1973. For more information visit www.upenn.edu/affirm-action/.

The Policy of Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination

The University of Pennsylvania's special character is reflected in the diversity of the Penn community. Men and women of different races, religions, nationalities and backgrounds are necessary to achieve the University's ultimate purpose: the improvement of the human condition through the pursuit of learning and the generation of knowledge. Diversity is prized at Penn because it helps to create the educational environment that best prepares students to contribute to an increasingly diverse and rapidly shrinking world. We must continue, therefore, to seek talented faculty, students and staff who will help constitute a community at Penn that is diverse in race, ethnicity, interests and perspectives.

The foundation for achieving, valuing, and managing diversity at Penn is equal opportunity. We have a clear commitment to equal opportunity, non-discrimination, and affirmative action. This policy re-affirms our commitment in this regard. This policy of equal opportunity, affirmative action, and non-discrimination is fundamental to the effective functioning of the University as an institution of teaching, scholarship, and public service.

Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination against individuals on the following protected-class bases: race, color, sex (except where sex is a bona fide occupational qualification), sexual orientation, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, age (except where age is a bona fide occupational qualification), disability (and those associated with persons with disabilities), or status as a special disabled, Vietnam era veteran or other eligible veteran.

Our task is to eliminate any patterns of prohibited unequal treatment from a community that prizes diversity. We must monitor our policies, procedures, and practices for equal opportunity and access to the services, programs, and opportunities our community has to offer individuals.

Penn is committed to ensuring that all academic programs (except where age or sex are bona fide occupational qualifications), including social and recreational programs, and services are administered without regard to an individual's protected-class status.

Penn is also committed to ensuring that its personnel and other employment decisions are made without regard to an individual's protected-class status. Personnel and other employment decisions include, but may not be limited to, outreach and recruitment, application, selection, promotion and other transfers, compensation, benefits administration, layoffs and other personnel transitions, University sponsored training and educational programs, and tuition assistance.

Penn is dedicated to an organizational strategy that supports the full realization of equal employment opportunity for all through affirmative action predicated on the following tenets:
  1. Serious and imaginative outreach, recruitment, and advertising methods.
  2. Periodic reviews of the personnel and other employment decisions made by hiring officers.
  3. Thorough analysis of Penn's faculty and staff workforce composition to determine areas of underutilization for which concentrated or special effort is due.
  4. Provision of professional and management development opportunities for faculty and staff that builds skills and knowledge around equal opportunity, as well as valuing and effectively managing Penn's diverse work environments.
  5. Provision of skill development and enhancement opportunities for staff.
  6. Provision of technical assistance on the implementation of this policy, as needed, to schools, departments, and centers.

As a federal contractor, Penn has a written Affirmative Action Plan to address the utilization of women and minorities and to address the inclusion of persons with disabilities, special disabled and Vietnam era veterans in Penn's workforce.

This policy also recognizes an individual's right to raise and pursue concerns of alleged discrimination to a University resource office or to an appropriate individual within a school, department, or center without adverse action or retaliation for doing so. The Affirmative Action Plan describes the University resources available to faculty, staff, students, and applicants for employment or admission to Penn who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of their protected-class status.

Penn's non-discrimination and affirmative action policies and programs are developed, administered, and monitored centrally through the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs in collaboration with the Division of Human Resources and the Office of the Associate Provost. The Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs is located organizationally within the Office of the President. Questions and concerns regarding these policies and programs, as well as requests for educational programs on affirmative action, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination, should be directed to the Executive Director, Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, Sansom Place East, Suite 228, 3600 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6106, (215) 898-6993 (Voice) or (215) 898-7803 (TIDID).

This policy covers faculty and staff, matriculated students, applicants for faculty and staff employment, and applicants to Penn's academic programs and other activities.

--Judith Rodin, President
--Robert Barchi, Provost

This policy is available in alternate format upon request


Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 2, September 3, 2002

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

Tuesday,
September 3, 2002
Volume 49 Number 2
www.upenn.edu/almanac/

Penn alumna Sadie Alexander's name will live on at the newly named preK-8 school.
Welcome Back: Messages From the President and From the Senate Chair.
Penn and Trammell Crow have terminated the arrangements they had for management and other services.
The Pottruck Health and Fitness Center opens with tours of the state-of-the-art recreation facility.
ISC unveils a new authentication system for better computer security--out with the PennNet IDs and in with the PennKeys.
Penn has lost eight members of the Penn community over the summer.
The Report of the Working Group on Human Subjects Research in the SocioBehavioral Sciences.
The updated, revised Three-Year Academic Calendar lets you look ahead to 2004-2005.
The Undergraduate Admissions seminars for Penn faculty and staff families are this week--the first one is at 5:15 p.m. today.
The September AT PENN calendar includes a list of the special 9/11 commemorative events that span from morning until evening across the campus.